1955 Chinese Zodiac: Year of the Wood Goat

When did the 1955 Year of the Goat start and end?

The Chinese zodiac does not change on January 1. It follows the lunisolar calendar, so each animal year starts at Lunar New Year, the second new moon after the winter solstice, which always lands between January 21 and February 20. For 1955 that date was January 24, 1955.

Because Lunar New Year (Jan 24) came before Ipchun (Feb 4) in 1955, babies born from Jan 24 to Feb 3 are Goats by the popular zodiac but still have a 甲午 (Wood Horse) year pillar in a Korean Saju or Chinese Bazi chart.

Wood Goat meaning: element, yin-yang and nayin

Every year in the 60-year cycle pairs one of ten heavenly stems with one of twelve earthly branches. 1955 is stem 乙 (Eul / Yǐ, Yin Wood) on branch 未 (Mi, the Goat), number 32 of 60 in the cycle. The stem gives the year its element, which is why people say “Wood Goat” rather than just “Goat”.

Reading the element. Wood is the element of spring and growth. Wood years are traditionally linked with generosity, cooperation, a strong sense of fairness and a drive to improve things step by step. The flip side is that Wood people can spread themselves thin, start more projects than they finish, or become stubborn when their ideals are questioned. For a Wood year the keywords are growth, kindness and idealism. The Goat itself carries Earth as its fixed element, so this year blends wood energy with earth qualities.

The nayin image. The 60 pairs also have 30 poetic “nayin” names, shared by two neighbouring years. 1954 and 1955 are Gold in the Sand (沙中金), pictured as gold mixed into sand: talent that needs sifting and polishing before others recognise its worth.

The same 乙未 pair is also a Saju day pillar; see the Eul-Mi day-pillar article for how the combination is read when it appears on the day of birth.

1955 in Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese zodiac

Koreans often name the year with a colour taken from the stem element: Wood years are blue-green (청), Fire red (적), Earth yellow or golden (황), Metal white (백) and Water black (흑). That is why 1955 is called the year of the 푸른 양띠 (blue/green goat). Japan has counted eto by the Gregorian year since 1873, so in Japan everyone born in 1955 counts as hitsuji (未, Goat) regardless of the lunar date. Vietnam uses the same animal for this year.

1955 Wood Goat personality traits (traditional)

Keywords: gentle, creative, compassionate, calm + growth, kindness and idealism

Goat years are traditionally read as kind, artistic and peace-loving. Goats are said to be sensitive to beauty and to other people’s feelings, and to do their best work in a calm, supportive setting.

The character 未 is translated as Goat, Sheep or Ram; Korean uses 양 (yang, sheep/goat), Vietnamese uses Dê (goat) and Japanese hitsuji (sheep). In Chinese the word for sheep sounds like the word for yang energy, so the animal is linked with good fortune and peace.

Where the Wood element shows. Tradition says the stem colours the animal: a Wood Goat is cooperative, principled, keeps growing. Compared with the Water Goat of 1943 and the Fire Goat of 1967, the 1955 version is read as the most growth-minded and cooperative Goat.

In love: Tender and devoted, seeking a secure, harmonious home; Goats appreciate a partner who is protective and patient. At work: Suited to the arts, design, music, caregiving, teaching, gardening, social work and hospitality.

Zodiac personality descriptions are folklore. Real personality is shaped by upbringing, culture and choices, and people born in the same year differ enormously.

1955 Goat compatibility: best and worst matches

Classical compatibility looks at how the two birth-year branches relate on the zodiac wheel. Signs four places apart form a Three Harmony trine, specific pairs form a Six Harmony, and signs directly opposite each other clash. For a Goat born in 1955, the nearest-age examples are:

Korean folk matchmaking (gunghap, 궁합) also watches for wonjin (원진) pairs, said to breed resentment; for the Goat that partner is the Rat. See the full 12×12 compatibility chart or the Year of the Goat guide. A real compatibility reading in Saju compares all eight characters of both charts, not just the year animal.

Lucky numbers and colours for the 1955 Goat

Two different ideas get mixed together online. The “lucky numbers and colours” lists are a modern popular folklore that varies from one website to another. The five-element colours are older: they come from the correspondence of Wood–green, Fire–red, Earth–yellow, Metal–white and Water–black, which is also behind Korean names such as 푸른 양띠. Treat both as fun cultural trivia.

2027 Year of the Fire Goat: outlook for people born in 1955

2027 is Jeongmi (丁未), the Yin Fire Goat — called the “red sheep” year (붉은 양띠) in Korea. In the Chinese calendar it begins on Feb 6, 2027 and ends on Jan 25, 2028; Korea celebrates Seollal on Feb 7, 2027 because the new moon falls just after midnight Korea time. For Saju, the year pillar changes at Ipchun on Feb 4, 2027 at about 10:46 KST. Tradition reads 2027 as a high-visibility year for the Wood Goat:

In Chinese folk belief your own sign’s year is a "Tai Sui" year in which you sit directly under the year’s ruling star. Rather than bad luck, tradition reads it as a year of visibility and change that rewards careful planning; wearing red is the popular charm. Goat, Rabbit and Pig are also in the last year of the Korean samjae (삼재) cycle in 2027, called nal-samjae (날삼재), the "leaving" year.

Your birth-year element, Wood, generates Fire. Tradition reads this as an output year: ideas, creativity and giving to others flow easily, but energy can drain, so rest and boundaries matter.

Practical, non-mystical ways to use the 2027 reading

• Plan big changes early in the year and leave buffer time for the unexpected.
• At 72, prioritise health check-ups and time with family.
• Use the Saju calculator to see whether 2027 strengthens or drains your day master rather than relying on the year animal alone.

For a personalised version that uses your birth month, day and hour, see the 2027 Korean horoscope and the 2027 Year of the Goat guide.

How old is someone born in 1955? (2026 and 2027)

The 60-year cycle gives East Asian birthdays their biggest milestone: when the same stem-and-branch pair (乙未) returns, a person has completed one full cycle. In Korea this is hwangap (환갑) and in Japan kanreki; for people born in 1955 it falls in 2015 — already celebrated. Chilsun (70th) follows in 2025 and palsun (80th) in 2035.

All Goat years and the years around 1955

The Goat returns every 12 years, but the element changes each time, so the same Wood Goat element comes back only every 60 years.

Neighbouring birth years

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